To get the latest news, thousands would flock to the newspaper offices themselves, arrayed along Park Row near city hall, to watch the headlines get chalked up on giant blackboards.

The latest incarnation looks every part the French bistro, from the wooden floor and chairs and prints on the wall to the fresh flowers on the table and blackboards chalked up with dishes to tempt even the most iron-willed of dieters.

As a way of reminding and motivating students, you can see chalked on blackboards in most classrooms countdowns of the days to the examination and some encouraging words.

Origin

Old English cealc, the forerunner of chalk, also meant ‘lime’. It came from Latin calx ‘lime’, which is also the source of calcium [19th]. When we say by a long chalk, meaning ‘to a great degree, by far’ (and not by a long chalk, ‘not at all’), the ‘ long chalk’ refers to the length of a line of chalk marks or tallies drawn on a blackboard. This may originally have been in the context of a pub game, where points scored were marked up on the blackboard, or perhaps in the classroom, with a teacher chalking up pupils' marks for schoolwork. In either case, a long line of chalk marks against your name would mean you were a long way ahead of the others.

Phrases

as different as (or like) chalk and cheese

The pair were as different as chalk and cheese but between them they forged out 29 century opening stands - and Lumb would probably argue the number would have been much higher if his celebrated partner had not run him out so many times.

But they are as different as chalk and cheese, both in appearance and otherwise: Walt is a ladies' man and an aspiring actor, while Bob is an unassuming athlete with terrible stage fright.

Whether this turns out to be true or not, in my opinion, hunting and fishing are as different as chalk and cheese so I stay out of an argument that does not involve me as a fisherman.